


Black Coffee and Star-Shaped Sprinkles

by glasses_and_shards



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, University Student Akaashi Keiji
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:14:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25568824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glasses_and_shards/pseuds/glasses_and_shards
Summary: "THE WORLD IS ON YOUR SIDE TODAY! - BOKUTO"Eight words, four stars, and horrible handwriting - this was how Akaashi Keiji made it through today's sleep-deprived reverie. He chuckles, despite himself. Even the note was dripping with life and energy.--- or maybe it was just the coffee.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji & Bokuto Koutarou, Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 2
Kudos: 49
Collections: BokuAka Week, Bokuaka Week 2020





	Black Coffee and Star-Shaped Sprinkles

Mornings were not Akaashi Keiji’s best friend. 

Everything from his alarm ringing, to cars honking, to "good morning!"s from cheerful neighbors upset him - he always wondered how the city could be so alive when the sun has barely even peaked. 

The silence of his morning thoughts clash with the noise of the outdoors, but he's gotten used to this. He didn't like it, but as soon as he finds peace again, he finds his rhythm. 

The coffee shop around the block was his only haven from the chaos. The place was usually silent, filled with sleep-deprived students and regular nine-to-fives, lining up for their fix of caffeine. 

_God, Uni was a terrible idea_ , he thinks, as he scans the shop. Same wooden tables, same plush seats, same posters, same people. Akaashi dislikes change and disruptions - the constant and familiar comfort him, promising him that unbroken cycles are kept unbroken if he sticks to his agenda. 

_Coffee shop, uni, coffee shop, apartment. Repeat._

“Akaashi!”

_And there he is._

Akaashi raises his head, unsurprised. The corners of his mouth lift slightly as the golden-eyed cashier waves his arms wildly, both eyes and smile wide. 

* * *

Until a few weeks ago, Akaashi Keiji's mornings were perfectly quiet - tranquil, if you will. 

This was, of course, until the shop decided to hire an obnoxiously cheerful employee. The new guy greeted every customer with the same grin and enthusiasm, never fading, never tired. What puzzled Akaashi most about this newfound enigma was that he always seemed to _just glow_ , regardless of the glum silence in the store and its customers. White hair sticking out from all angles, smiles always fully-toothed, Akaashi found him painfully blinding. 

He wondered how hard it must be to keep such a smile on at all times, when his fellow workers barely did. When he came up to the counter to order, the barista spoke before him. 

“Woah! You look tired!” 

_Painfully obnoxious, too._

The waiter’s mouth dropped into an ‘o’ and he lost his smile, but his eyes still gleamed, alight with wonder. Akaashi purses his lips, pushing the remark away from his mind.

“Coffee. Black.”

“I figured!” His grin returns. He shouts the order behind his back, punches in Akaashi’s order, and turns back to the messy-haired boy. There it is again, the gleam in his eyes, curious, unfading. “Uni must be giving you a tough time, huh? What’s your major?” 

_You’re holding up the line._ “Let’s just suppose that it gets steadily more taxing.”

“Taxing! We deal with taxes here, too!” Mouth into an ‘o’, eyes wide. This seemed to be his default expression if he wasn’t smiling. Akaashi could only sigh. 

_That’s not what taxing means, Cashier-san._

He doesn’t say anything, only watching the realization dawning on the cashier’s face, cheeks and ears burning pink, mumbling a low “oops, I don’t think that’s what taxing means." 

Akaashi barely finds it in himself to spare the boy from the confirmation that no, that was indeed not what “taxing” meant. 

"Name?" He attempts to clear the air.

"Akaashi." 

"Okay! A - K - A - A - S - H - I! Akaashi!" 

"Yes, that's my name." 

"It's a pretty name!” He lights up, then pouts. “Mine doesn't sound pretty at all." He laughs regardless, gesturing to the silver pin on his chest.

 _Bokuto_.

Bokuto, whom Akaashi didn't really want to be acquainted with, fishes out a pad of notes and a pen from his apron pocket. He hunches over the counter and scribbles away, trying his best to keep the words hidden from Akaashi’s view. He grins, cushioning this in between the shop-provided tissues, like a secret saved for later. 

Akaashi eyes the note, noticeably neon. He suppresses a laugh.

"You'd have to thank my parents, Bokuto-san." 

Instead of taking offense, Bokuto laughs, his voice filling even the darkest corners of the room with life. Akaashi, in that moment, envies him and his laughter and his spirit, wishing for all this to come so easily to him. If he took life as easily as Bokuto did, he wouldn’t be visiting the cafe everyday with deeper eyebags and a heavier burnout. 

"I think I will!" Bokuto seems to have forgotten that he was on shift, with five or so more customers to tend to. _I won’t blame the management for firing you today_ , Akaashi thinks, taking his drink. He barely manages a "thank you" before he finds himself exiting the shop. 

He tucks the tissues and the note in his bag, then sips his drink all too quickly. The liquid was still scathing hot, and it burned his throat and tongue senseless, but it tasted far sweeter than he expected it to be. 

. 

. 

. 

_"THE WORLD IS ON YOUR SIDE TODAY! - BOKUTO"_

Eight words, four stars, and horrible handwriting - this was how Akaashi Keiji made it through today's sleep-deprived reverie. He chuckles, despite himself. Even the note was dripping with life and energy.

\--- or maybe it was just the coffee.

* * *

This was weeks ago. 

Akaashi had then promoted Bokuto from one of his "disturbances" to a part of his morning routine. Everyday, he'd enter the same shop, order the same drink, and encounter the same smile. He didn’t mind his loud personality or his persistent questions or his daily notes. He had grown comfortable with his antics, almost fond.

Some days, Akaashi still finds Bokuto blinding, his energy still too difficult to keep up with. On better days, Akaashi finds himself suppressing the smile in his words. Bokuto's smiles often felt like the sun favored you, like the world would be on your side. It was the warmth he needed to keep himself from freezing over. 

"Akaashi!" _And there he is._

This time, too, Bokuto speaks before him. 

"Coffee, black?" 

"Yes." 

"Don't you ever get tired of drinking the same thing?" 

"Not when I need the energy, no." 

Bokuto pouts. "Uni must be hard!" 

Akaashi shrugs. "Not just uni." _There are other things on my mind, too._

Bokuto's head falls to one side as he comes to gauge Akaashi’s expression. Akaashi found the cashier to be particularly perceptive, his assumptions about him either scarily accurate or laughably presumptuous. Realization dawns on Bokuto's face, and he brings out his pen and notes excitedly. 

"No peeking!" _Amusing. You’re older than me, and yet you act so much younger._

“I won’t. It ruins the surprise.”

He laughs like he always does, and it’s warm. So warm. “I’m glad you like them!”

He slips the note in between the tissues again, and hands Akaashi his drink. Akaashi fishes the note and attempts to hide his smile from Bokuto’s audible gasp. 

_"I KNOW IT'S HARD TO GIVE YOUR 100% ALL THE TIME, BUT AKAASHI, I THINK YOU CAN GIVE YOUR 120% TODAY! - BOKUTO"_

Twenty words, two figures, four stars.

The same horrible handwriting, the same wide-eyed smile. The same warmth.

Akaashi allows himself a laugh and a “thank you”, waving the note wedged between middle and index fingers, back turned from the counter.

The sun and noise greet him “good morning”, and he doesn’t mind - the chaos sounds almost endearing to him. He sips from his cup. 

Undeniably sweet, all bitterness washed away. 

* * *

"Akaashiiiii! Wake up! I have to close the shop!" 

_Bokuto? What time is it?_ Akaashi groans. _Aren’t I at home?_

Someone huffs, then nudges his shoulders. Akaashi grunts, and repositions himself. 

The city was falling asleep, but Akaashi Keiji was only just waking up - head propped on crossed arms, glasses still on. His eyes attempt to focus on the blur of black and white and shadow in front of him, mind whirring. All that he could register was the warmth in Bokuto’s palms. If his nights were this warm, it would’ve been far easier to fall asleep. Not that he could spare sleep for himself, but it was a nice thought.

. 

. 

. 

_Oh god._

His head shoots up from his arms, mind wide awake, body exhausted, glasses askew. His eyes dart towards the clock on his left - _10 PM._

_Oh my fucking god._

"Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no." Akaashi curses. "Oh god." His hands find the nape of his neck, and he closes his eyes again. 

_Breathe_ , he tells himself. _In, out. In, out._

_You'll be fine, it's just a few hours. (Hours. You lost hours because you fell asleep, Keiji. How will you regroup?)_

_I won't sleep tonight. (And what about tomorrow?)_

_Coffee. Coffee will do. (No, it won't.)_

_Why not? (You fell asleep today. Who's to say this won't happen tomorrow, either?)_

_So, what do I do? What choice do I have?_

Akaashi’s eyes were still closed. All he could see was black. Emptiness. The void. 

It was cold. So cold. 

_Help me._

_._

_._

_._

Arms wrap themselves around Akaashi's back. His hands fall, scrunching up the fabric of his pants, nails sinking into skin. 

"Akaashi… I'm here." 

His eyes flash open, heartbeat quick, coffee shop and the city lights replacing the darkness. He was writing. He didn't finish what he was writing. Tears prick at corners of his eyes.

He has deadlines tomorrow, too. His surroundings blur. _Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck - - -_

"Breathe, Akaashi."

And he does. He tries. But time isn't kind - time is never kind. 

_I can't keep up._

Bokuto lays his head atop Akaashi's, whispering. Gentle - very much unlike the loud and rambunctious owl he was on morning and evening shifts. His voice was quiet, calming - most of all, it was familiar. His voice was the only chaos in the cafe's silence, the only disruption to the unbroken cycle of his thoughts.

“Bokuto-san… please keep talking.”

_Help me._

“Oh? Oh, okay.” And he talks. He talks, and he talks, and he talks - about nice customers, mean regulars, and the coffee shop. He talks about black coffee and white chocolate and green tea. He talks about himself and his friends and his family, and it was warm. So warm. 

They stayed like that for a while, chaos and silence. Bokuto never let go, even when Akaashi’s hands left his lap and found his arms. His hands were cold. So cold. 

Akaashi sniffs. He tries to keep himself quiet, but his tears fall onto Bokuto’s skin, and the golden-eyed boy finally loses all traces of his smile. Bokuto stops talking, and he lets Akaashi cry, tears hot against his skin. 

_“Hold on to me,”_ Bokuto thinks. _“Hold on. Your pain will go away. I’ll make it go away.”_ He hugs Akaashi tighter, mumbling “leave him alone”s into his hair. Minutes pass, and he finally feels Akaashi’s breathing steady. Time slows back down. 

_You’ll be okay._

* * *

An hour passes in silence. Bokuto had long since let go of Akaashi, and some part of Akaashi wishes he could both erase and remember the memory of Bokuto’s warmth. Humiliation boils in his stomach as Bokuto hands him a drink topped with whipped cream, marshmallows, chocolate drizzle, and a spattering of star-shaped sprinkles.

Akaashi would’ve raised an eyebrow in question if his eyes weren’t still burning red. Instead, he says nothing, allowing the silence to consume them. He didn’t have the heart to tell Bokuto that he didn’t really like drinks drizzled with chocolate syrup and star-shaped sprinkles. 

“This is on me. Drink - it’ll make you feel better.”

Akaashi considers. Maybe he should indulge him - after all, he calmed him down.

“What, no note?” He blurts the words out before he could think. Akaashi curses inwardly. _This is why you don’t have a lot of friends, Keiji._

Bokuto doesn’t take it harshly, though, and laughs, his voice lighting up all the dark corners of his heart. Akaashi manages a smile.

“Well, I figured I could say it to you directly!”

Akaashi glances down at the topping-clad drink. “Alright,” he says, and sips. 

_Cold. Sweet. Kind._ Bokuto clears his throat. 

"Take your time!” He pauses to grin, and Akaashi feels the older boy thinking, choosing his words. “Time should be taken, because time can’t take you! You're far more powerful than time ever will be and you should know that!" 

_I don’t think that's how this works, Bokuto-san._ Akaashi manages a small laugh, still shaky.

"Coffee cools when you let it set. So unless you like your coffee cold, you have to drink it while it's burning!" Bokuto pauses, eyes wide, like he just thought up of something else. It feels like Akaashi finally sees his eyes glow the brightest it has ever been. 

"I still like the cold, though. It's still coffee either way." _Brighter than the streetlights, headlights, or lamplights._

Akaashi smiles. Bokuto's eyes burn far brighter than the sun ever could, and Akaashi finds this blinding, but he can't bring himself to look away. _Eyes like the sun._

"So maybe you _can_ be profound." 

"Eh? What did you think of me before?" _Eyes that twinkle. Eyes that shine._

"Obnoxious. Simple. Someone fired on the first day." 

"Akaashi!" _Eyes… like stars._

* * *

“Keiji!”

This was years ago. 

Today, Akaashi laughs, no longer cold, their smiles and this room and the man beside him all varying degrees of warm and sweet. 

“Yes, Kou?” He could look at Bokuto’s eyes all day. 

Bokuto pulls him closer, chin coming to rest on Akaashi's head. “I love you,” Bokuto answers, eyes closing. And it was warm. So warm. 

Akaashi smiles against his chest, thoughts silent. “I love you, too.”

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I hope you liked it! <<33 I'll come by to edit every now and then --- 
> 
> Please tell me your thoughts about it! I want to be better at this <3


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